Huge growth in NHS staff

23rd March 2011

The NHS in England has seen a huge growth in staff numbers over the last decade.

Figures for the census carried out by the NHS Information Centre show that by the end of September 2010, just over 1.43 million people worked for the NHS in England, though numbers are already starting to fall as cuts start to bite.

But in the period up to last September, staff numbers grew in virtually every department with a quarter more GPs, an increase of more than 50% in the number of consultants and a 20% rise in the number of qualified nurses.

One of the biggest areas of increase was in managers were numbers rose 66% in a decade to 41,962, though that number has fallen by 2,770 since last September.

Health Minister Simon Burns said: “The latest census shows that the NHS has taken up the challenge to reduce management costs whilst the number of doctors and nurses has increased.

“Reducing bureaucracy is vital to modernising the NHS so that every penny saved can be reinvested into improving patient care and driving up quality.

“We have always been clear that efficiency savings must not impact adversely on patient care. Instead the size and shape of the workforce needs to change so that we have less bureaucrats and the right levels of clinical staff so that care can be brought closer to home for patients.”

Shadow Health Secretary John Healey said the NHS in England now faced an uncertain future after years of investment.